Being a native Texan, my dog Archie isn’t all that happy with our move to snow country. I keep telling him this has been one of the mildest winters on record for Indiana. Even so, he just isn’t a fan of the cold. And the snow, even less!
We’ve only had a few small snows this winter (only a few inches each time) but Archie has made it very clear he will not walk barefooted in the snow. He’s always been a bit persnickety about getting his feet wet or cold, so before we left Texas I bought some dog booties, Porter’s Original Dozen Booties. I got enough for both dogs, but thought Archie would be the one who would need them the most. I was right.
Archie will not walk in the snow without his boots on. The first time we got a dusting of snow, I took both dogs out, bootless. After his feet hit the ground Archie stood with one foot up and refused to move. He simply would not take another step. So I took him inside, slipped his boots on, and back out we went. The boots made it so much easier for him to walk around enough to do what needed to be done.
I looked at a number of different boots online before buying Porter’s Original Dozen Booties. They’re very made of a 500 denier, 100% nylon Cordura like material and come with or without a light, smooth nylon coating on the inside. I bought the ones with the coating, because I thought it might help repel water a little better than the others.
They’re built like a tiny pillow case, with a Velcro fastener. And the way they’re constructed makes it super easy to slip them on and off. It only takes a minute or two to get Archie’s boots on before we go out. Of course it helps that he’s so cooperative!
My dogs go out at least 4 or 5 times a day, and when there’s snow on the ground Archie always wears his boots (and his coat!) Lydia sometimes goes without. When we come back in, I toss the boots in a bucket, and the next time we go out, they’re usually fairly dry.
The only thing I would caution people about is for dogs with long hair on their legs. Since the boot fastens with Velcro, be careful to pull the dog’s hair back before fastening it. The first time I put them on Lydia, some of her hair got caught in one of the boots and she tried pulling it off. It’s easy enough though to pull the dog’s hair back before pressing the Velcro together. Once their fastened, and it doesn’t need to be super tight, they stay on. And if the hair isn’t caught neither one of my dogs try taking them off.
There are many other dog boots out there, some of them quite expensive, but these suit our needs just fine. And since my boy Archie likes them, that’s good enough for me!
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I rescued yet another lost dog here in Houston. In 2011, I rescued almost 20 dogs who had escaped from their homes. I can always tell the difference between and abandoned dog and a lost dog (although, don’t get me wrong, an abandoned dog does feel extremely lost). The dogs look well-fed, taken care of, have a collar on, and a look on their face that is a mixture of, “Oh wow, I can’t believe I’m out in the world! This is so exciting!”, and “Oh wow, I can’t believe I’m out in the world! What am I doing out here??”
. She is also the founder of the Six-Figure Pet Sitting Academy and has provided business coaching for hundreds of pet sitting and dog walking business owners from across the country and Canada. Kristin started her own pet sitting and dog walking business in 1995 and has created a pet sitting business that thrives without her constant involvement. Kristin can be reached at the 
I’m a big fan of shopping online, especially when I know exactly what I need. And now that I’ve moved to the Midwest, where it gets cold and snowy, I’ll be doing more online shopping than ever
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